Standard Operating Procedures – Working Smarter, Not Harder
Maximize productivity by standardizing “best practices” across your organization. “Since we started truly implementing standard operating procedures, it’s a statistical fact that I only spend two hours a week in three locations and that we grew from five employees to 50 in a four-year time period,” says Troy Gates, owner of a three-shop operation called Gates
Off With the Gloves: Learn How to Negotiate!
If your “negotiations” involve yelling, pumping out your chest and clenching your fists, you have a better chance of being cast in Rocky VI than of convincing your opponent to give you what you want. Negotiating is a form of mental sparring, so quit trying to intimidate and use your head instead.
The Tech, the Manager and the Entrepreneur
When Michael E. Gerber first introduced the world to the e-myth principles in his seminars, consulting services and books, it may have seemed odd to relate such ideas to the collision repair industry. But if you’ve had the opportunity to read — or listen to the audio version of — his updated, "The E-Myth Revisited:
In SOPs We Trust
Standard operating procedures could offer a body shop owner more freedom and the ability to attract new insurance business by creating ‘verifiable’ trust.
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme: Better, Cheaper & Faster
Years ago, the belief in business was that you could provide a product better, cheaper or faster — pick two. But to achieve success today, you must offer all three. Customers expect more, for less money and want it yesterday.
The Incredibly Shrinking Industry
Until three years ago, the prospect of some Wall Street investor teaming up with a body shop owner was incomprehensible. Today, it’s reality. Welcome to the brave, new — consolidating — world of collision repair.
Expert Advice: Growing or Selling Your Business
Whether you want to grow your business or sell your business, it’s wise to follow in the footsteps of shop owners who’ve gone where you’d like to go.
Shop Forum/Addressing Aftermarket Parts
Some collision-repair specialists don’t mind using aftermarket parts, some do. For those who do mind, how do they deal with having to use them when an insurance company says
so?